Beginning and ending in Veneto

On a casual weeknight, we met to taste some olive oils, cheese from Lake Garda and some wines served blind. The best olive oil came from Azienda Comencini that smelled of a walk in olive tree terraces and tasted fresh and slightly spicy. The only wine we didn't try blind was the Santa Sofia Recioto, which was pulled out spontaneously to close the evening.

• 2012 Corte Moschina Soave Roncathe 85 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Soave

  Light pale yellow. In the nose, this is very agreeable with aromas of white blossoms, pear and citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit). Very bright and clear. On the palate, it's fairly light, but has really good grip and length with citrus fruit aromas again, fine acidity and an almost creamy mouthfeel. Excellent in its modest price class.

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• 2001 Querbach Oestricher Doosberg Riesling Milestone 93 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  Golden yellow with green reflexes. In the nose, this has nice notes of aged Riesling and very ripe fruit (peach, mango, pineapple). Very clear, expressive and elegant. Quite opulent and very, very seductive. On the palate, this is heaven with divine minerality, lots of precision, good acidity and hints of fruitiness. Very long finish. Marvellous.

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• 2009 Anne Boisson Meursault Sous La Velle 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Light lemony yellow. In the nose, it's as tight as the eye of a needle and firmly locked. It reveals some citrus notes, some oak, a bit of reduction (struck match). Somewhere in the background, there's some white peach. On the palate, it's quite acidic for the vintage, In der Nase sehr eng und leicht verschlossen mit Zitrusnoten, good freshness, good structure (currently driven by oaky notes) and very restrained. This seems great, but it's just shut tight right now. One to wait for.

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• 2001 Marcel Deiss Engelgarten 93 Points

  France, Alsace

  Golden yellow. In the nose, this is fascinating with slight notes reminiscent of Botrytis (honey, ginger), some tangerine and fully ripe apple. On the palate, it's got razor sharp acidity, but a very creamy mouthfeel at the same time. It's still quite fresh and finishes with slightly bitter and spicy notes. With air and temperature, this gets better and better and the finish becomes more harmonic. Good time to drink it now, but no hurry.

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• 1974 Santa Sofia Recioto della Valpolicella Classico 86 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Recioto della Valpolicella Classico

  Blackish red with some brown on the rim. In the nose, this shows hardly any signs of age, lots of dried fruit (prunes, dates, raisins) and fruit in rum. The nose is surprisingly fresh for the age of the wine. On the palate, this is medium sweet with intact acidity and good structure. Slightly sticky finish. This drinks very well, but it's not overly complex.

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The 2001 Doosberg EG by Querbach and the 2001 Engelgarten by Marcel Deiss showed how much such wines reward cellaring. It was interesting tasting the 2001 Doosberg as it's closed with a stainless crown cork and pretty much showed the signs of age that one would expect from a Riesling made in a semi-traditional way (spontaneous fermentation, but élevage not in Fuder casks, but in steel tanks). It was absolutely marvellous from this underrated producer. The 2001 Deiss Engelgarten was the runner-up for wine of the night and became better and better in the course of the evening. Even though I had the 2002 Engelgarten not too long ago, I didn't recognize the Engelgarten blind. I and others on the table were guessing botrytis-influenced Riesling from the Mosel (e.g. Heymann-Löwenstein), but were totally wrong. In any case, it's a great bottle of wine that is ready to drink now. Not ready to drink now is the 2009 Anne Boisson Meursault Sous la Velle. I'm wondering how long the wines from the Boisson family (Boisson-Vadot) will take or if they will ever stay as tight and linear as they are now.